Tang Dynasty noblewoman buried with her donkeysn， for the love of polo
唐代貴婦沉迷愛馬球，和驢一起下葬
A noblewoman from Imperials China enjoyed playing polo on donkeys so much she had her steeds buried with her so she could keep doing it in the afterlife, archaeologists found. This discovery by a team that includes Fiona Marshall, the James W. and Jean L. Davis professor in Arts&Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, is published March 17 in the journal Antiquity.
考古學家發現，以為來自中國帝國時期的貴族夫人很喜歡在驢子上玩馬球，她把自己的馬都埋了起來，這樣她就可以在死後繼續玩馬球了。這個由菲奧娜·馬歇爾、詹姆斯·W和聖路易斯華盛頓大學藝術和科學教授讓·L·戴維斯組成的團隊發現，於3月17號發表在《古物學》雜誌上。
The research provides the first physical evidence of donkey polo in Imperial China, which previously was onlu known from historical texts. It also sheds light on the role for donkeys in the lives of high status women in that period.
該研究為中國帝國時期的驢球提供了第一個實物證據，此前只有歷史文獻才知道驢球。他還說明了毛驢在這一時期在高級婦女生活中的作用。
Researchers found donkey bones in the tomb of Cui Shi, a noblewoman who died in 878 AD in Xi'an, China. The presence of work animals in a ealthy woman's tomb was unexpected, the researchers said.
研究人員在崔氏墓中發現了驢骨，崔氏是公元前878年死於中國西安的一位貴婦人。研究人員說，在一位富婆的墳墓裡出現工作動物是出乎意料的。
「Donkeys were the first pack animals, the steam engines of their day in Africa and western Eurasia, but we know almost nothing about their use in eastern Asia,」said Marshall, an archaeologist in the Department of Anthropology. She helped study the animals bones found in Cui Shi's tomb.
"Donkey skeletons just have not been found, this is probably because they died along trade routes and were not preserved," She said. "The donkeys buried in the Tang Dynasty noble tomb in Xi'an provided a first opportunityand a very rare oneto understand donkeys' roles in east Asian societies."
人類學部的考古學家馬歇爾說：「驢是非洲和歐亞西部第一種貨運動物，它們是當時時代的蒸汽引擎，但我們對東亞地區的使用幾乎一無所知。」她幫助研究崔氏墓中發現的動物骨骼。她還指出，「東亞地區驢骨架並沒有被發現，可能原因是因為它們死在了貿易線路上，並沒有被保存，而葬於西安唐朝貴族墓的驢，為了解驢在東亞社會的角色提供了一次機會。」
Take together, this research provides the first physical evidence of donkeys being used by elite women and of donkey polo in Imperial China, the researchers said. As the first donkey skeletons from eastern Asia to be thoroughly studied, they also broaden the understanding of the role of donkeys in the past.
研究人員表明，綜合起來，這項研究提供了第一種實物證據，證明了中國皇室的精英女士玩驢球。作為東南亞的第一批驢骨架，它們同時也拓寬了人們對過去驢子作用的認識。